This Toronto District School Board alternative school design program, where students earn high school credits by creating their own brand and running a skateboard business / professional design studio, now offers even more SK8 Entrepreneurship Opportunities & New Courses including SK8 & Art Co-ops, Native SK8 Studies, Physical Arts & Mindful Living...

APPLY NOW!!! (*Info Sessions are held every Wednesday at 9AM in the OSF Classroom during the school year.)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

On the last day of their internship, Kendra and Darren helped students photograph their art against the backdrop of a wall in the Queen St. graffiti alley. These self-portrait paintings explore the impact of consumerism and media messages on youth culture.

When Oasis started I wasn’t the best at making boards, but over the year I’ve gotten a lot better. I’m now the Studio Technician who helps everybody with boards and graphics, from how to sand to cutting stencils or masking boards. Personally I like to mask out the board: taping over the board and then cutting out the tape to then spray your graphic.

This board is the second design in my Cosmic Dragon line. The first one was “Incoming Meteor”, which featured a meteor heading towards the Earth. On this board the meteor is crashing into the desert during a sunset. The gold flames coming off the meteor will also be featured on a later board (but they’re here for a reason). When I started this board I wasn’t sure what I wanted to put on it but it came to me, a tree here, a tree there, skull over here and a cactus over there. It was a fun board to make because I learned more about fading the background and not using just one colour.

I’m loving this board and I can’t wait to make the third…and I’m sure you can’t either.

Friday, May 14, 2010

These two boards exploring themes of female stereotypes and strong women will be set up and sold as completes as part of an upcoming show of rockin' women artists at Longboard Living opening on May 30th. Laura has now finished her last teaching placement for her B.Ed. and has taken a job in the video game industry....Best of luck Laura, the students will miss your mentorship!

Inspired by my childhood years of watching Batman cartoons, this custom deck was definitely my highlight board of the year. This custom longboard was built in full day sessions, once a week for four weeks, at Roarockit Studio. With help from Ted Hunter, a template was drawn out, the mold was shaped, and veneers were cut. A spine was constructed with four layers of veneer that were pressed against the shape of the board then cut smaller and attached.

This project definitely opened up an entirely different world of board shaping for me. I no longer think skateboard art applies only to graphics, but to the shape of the board itself as well. As a student who has completed the program at OSF, I have pushed the envelope and expanded my skills as an art student. The Bat Board has taught me to pay as much attention to my canvas as I do to my art work.

1.(Top Photo) I’m 16 and I live in Scarborough. I changed schools and started this program halfway through second semester to get a head start on next year.

This board was based on my way of life, keeping the peace wherever I go. If we all did that the world would be a better place. I wanted to incorporate the peace symbol somewhere in my deck for obvious reasons.

I thought of this idea from looking at some graffiti in the streets. The rough drawing turned out well so the next step was making the board. The actual making of the board took a while because of all the different layers of paint and stencilling, but it was worth it when I saw the end product. I think this is probably my favourite deck I’ve had and the best part is I made it myself._________

2.(Bottom Photo) This is the fifth deck I have made at the OSF, and I definitely had a lot of fun doing this board. This being my second personal deck, I had a hard time deciding what image I would put on this board and I thought that making a board for my girlfriend would be cool. I designed the board with an exaggerated cartoon of my girlfriend with her nick name. I kind of prefer using cartoon images because it’s just kind of my style: Anime, Saturday morning cartoons, bold and bright colours. I used pink because pink is her favourite colour.

One of the problems I ran into was the constant bleeding of the spray paint under the stencils. Even though I used spray adhesive to keep my stencils down, I keep having that problem. Maybe I just had the OSF curse (bad spraying luck). Next time I’m going to take it slow and take my time, because now I’m working on two sponsor decks for a client that can’t have mistakes because they’re paying for it.

In the end I managed to finish the deck, and my girlfriend was really excited about her new gift (even though I’ll make sure I’ll do a better job next time).

I am 17 years old and I live in Toronto near the beach. I’ve been a student here at Oasis Skateboard Factory since the second semester.

This board was inspired by Frank Kozik for his random animals and foods smoking cigarettes. I chose to make a silly cartoon hotdog with camouflage colours (ketchup, mustard and relish) in the background to add context for the hotdog. I made the hotdog in a cartoon style to emphasize the humour and wackiness. The letters and colours are bold and bright to make this board stick out from others.

The board has a simple message: to simply bring laughter and for people to appreciate how random it is. This board also serves as a reminder for people to just have fun and bring joy.

This is the first board I have completed and I have never felt more satisfied with anything like this in a very long time. Before I made this board I was terrible at making stencils, but through this experience I have upgraded my skills and learned a lot about the building process. I am really proud of the results of my final deck!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Oasis Alternative S.S. Students and Staff (representing the Arts & Social Change Program, Oasis Skateboard Factory and the Triangle Program) accept the 2010 Anne Hope Award for furthering the causes of equity and human rights education in the TDSB.

SBC Skateboard Magazine: A video extension of our "A Concrete Education' article from the Spring 2010 issue. Craig Morrison takes you through the Oasis Skateboard Factory, an alternative school in Toronto that incorporates designing skateboards and running a skateboard business into regular everyday classes. Filmed by Christoph Benfey.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Following our business unit on SK8 sustainability, students expressed their environmental consciousness through images on 100% bamboo boards. While all students that submitted designs to the contest get to keep a bamboo skateboard and receive written feedback from the Bamboo SK8 team, these two compelling designs submitted with strong written artist statements and explanations will permanently hang in the Bamboo SK8 headquarters in Oceanside, California, and these two students received prize packs including the newest bamboo street decks and longboards. Thanks to Geoff Koboldt and his team for all their support in running this exciting educational opportunity for the OSF students!

This awesome board was a collaboration between two of our student designers and is now on display with boards by some top Toronto artists as part of a fundraiser event for Free Skates: http://freeskates.wordpress.com/ (Opening Party is 19+, but you can check out the show opening tomorrow at Well & Good Gallery, 52 McCaul)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Some of the recent boards students are shaping with mentoring from Ted Hunter (Roarockit Founder & OCAD Teacher) and finishing with painting and printmaking techniques taught by Craig Morrison (Artist & OSF Teacher).

I skate street and I come from East York. I’ve been going to OSF since February. I created this design on a bamboo deck and I was inspired by Asian wildlife. I mixed that with Shepard Fairey’s famous Andre The Giant picture and reworked it. The theme of my skateboard is sustainability and using bamboo instead of non-sustainable materials.

The materials I used to make this board were black and white spray paint and the technique I used was taping the whole board, drawing a stencil and cutting out the image so I could get a sharper, clearer picture. The elements and principles of design I used were contrast and balance. I was trying to communicate that we should be using more sustainable materials like bamboo and other things so we don’t waste all of our natural resources.

I feel really proud of making this board and I think it came out a lot better than I thought it would. There were times I really thought I was going to mess it up, but it all worked out in the end.

I have made approximately 10 decks in this program. I love this program. It has made me motivated to come to school every day and I am being really successful in this program. This is my last year here and it makes me really sad that I am leaving this program; at least I had my year here to make 10 decks and be with Craig, my amazing teacher.

The theme of my skateboard is an angel theme. I decided to make this board because I wanted to challenge myself with stencilling. My inspiration was a postcard that I got when I was at Disney at the Japanese pavilion at Epcot. I decided to change it a bit and add angel wings. The way I created this deck was by doing a masking tape stencil where I put the tape on the board and then I traced the design on the board and cut it out. I also used stencilling for the dress that is red. I used three colours white, black, and red. I created a high contrast image with the three colours I used.

With this deck I am trying to communicate beauty and elegance, and that all skateboard designs don’t have to be masculine. That’s what I try to communicate with all my boards. My personal feeling about this board is that I love it and it shows how much I have grown with stencilling and my images over this year.

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Upcoming Events & Announcements

OSF COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETINGS for 2017/18: All Parents, Students, Community Partners and OSF Supporters are invited to participate in the OSF Community Council. The OSF Community Council’s mandate is to provide a safety net to support our students and to enrich their experience of success in the school and community. Meeting #1 at Open House Thursday Oct 12, 6-8pm in the OSF Classroom, Meeting #2: Thursday November 9 at Roarockit 880 Millwood 7-9pm, Meeting #3: Thursday January 11 at Roarockit 880 Millwood 7-9pm, OSF Sem 1 Pop-Up Shop: Friday January 26 at Anomaly 46 Spadina Suite 200 Meeting #4: Thursday March 1 at Roarockit 880 Millwood 7-9pm, Meeting #5: Thursday March 22 at Roarockit 880 Millwood 7-9pm, Roarockit hosted Auction for OSF at Gladstone Hotel: Thursday April 12 7-10PM, Meeting #6: Thursday May 3 at Roarockit 880 Millwood 7-9pm GRAD BBQ/Sem 2 Pop Up Shop & Community Celebration: Friday June 15 at Anomaly 46 Spadina 6-8pm

OSF is actively looking for Creative Youth to join our Student Design Team! *All hour-long, drop-in INFORMATION SESSIONS take place on Wednesdays at 9:00AM sharp in Room 3, Scadding Court Community Centre, 707 Dundas St. West at Bathurst during the school year during scheduled classes (no sessions during exam periods). (Note: Due to space and time constraints, latecomers will have to return for the next scheduled session during the school year) --- Contact Craig at 416-393-0845 or craig.morrison@tdsb.on.ca

Picture You in the Crew: Student Criteria for Application to join the OSF Student Design Team: ---Looking to be a part of a TDSB alternative school that does only real-world projects? ---Stoked about visual arts, design, street art and skateboard culture? ---Able to learn/work independently and participate as a contributing team member in a community setting? ---16+ years of age? ---Note: Spaces are available for young women in OSF programs promoting women in skateboarding/graffiti. APPLY NOW!!!

Fall 2012 Announcement: OSF Teachers have put in a proposal to the TDSB to create a new alternative school. The OSF Storefront School is proposed as a new alternative school based on the success of the Oasis Skateboard Factory reengagement program that will continue to help students explore the connections between Creativity and Entrepreneurship by running our SK8 & Street Art Design Services as a Social Enterprise in a storefront featuring a retail space, gallery and workshop. If you can support us in making our proposal a reality, please contact us!

OSF Classroom Location:

Map by "Hey Apathy!"

Your Support can be Awesome!

GET ON BOARD...Make a Donation as a Community Collaborator!

We are currently looking for new Community Collaborators to make donations to support the continued enrichment of our students' experiences in this unique program, including support for the healthy daily lunch and materials used to expand our students' skills in art/design and other curricular areas. Many of our Community Collaborators are also mentors that give students the opportunity to develop transferable creative and entrepreneurial skills.

Now Registering Students!

Bored of Education?...

Skateboard of Education!!!

As of September 2009, Room 3 in the Scadding Court Community Centre will house the Oasis Skateboard Factory reengagement program.

As the first school site in the TDSB and the world fully dedicated to offering all subjects with a skateboard design and street art focus, the Oasis Skateboard Factory helps students earn Gr. 9-12 compulsory & elective high-school credits by running an entrepreneurial business where they learn hands-on to build skateboards, design original custom graphics, work with local artists and community collaborators, market and display their work and have the opportunity to receive an honorarium.

For more info or to apply, call the OSF Classroom at 416-393-0845 of drop in to one of our Info Sessions held every Wednesday at 9AM in the classroom during the school year.

craig.morrison@tdsb.on.ca

Innovation in Education!

Interested in our Innovation in Education Consultation Service, SK8 & Street Art Design Services, Teacher or Student-led Workshops, or just want more Information on the school program at OSF?

Contact Craig Morrison (Founding Teacher)

in the Classroom (416) 393-0845

craig.morrison@tdsb.on.ca

Roarockit inspired the OSF and thousands of board builders in schools and community contexts...

History of the Oasis Skateboard Factory?

In November 2006, twenty students completed a successful month-long pilot project on skateboard design as part of the new Arts & Social Change Program. With Toronto District School Board and Toronto Foundation for Student Success funding to extend the project, an art room at Oasis Alternative S.S. was transformed into a skateboard/longboard design studio where students ran a skateboard building and graphic design cooperative business. Drawing on the expertise of artist/teacher Craig Morrison with support from designers Norah Jackson & Ted Hunter (Roarockit Skateboard Company), students learned through the hands-on experience of constructing and shaping their own original skateboard decks, designing and applying stencil graffiti style graphics and displaying, marketing and selling their creations by outreaching to the local school community of the Queen St. Arts & Design District and beyond.
In September 2009, the OSF expanded programming into a classroom in the Scadding Court Community Centre (located at Dunbat Skate Park), becoming one of the world's first skateboard design high school sites where students earn credits through this unique focus.

Slo_Skate Movement: Making Skateboards / Building Community

Working with Sponsors & Clients

After creating a portfolio of their own personal designs and mastering the skills required to successfully make their own skateboards, students then look for community or local business partners to sponsor or purchase other skateboards. Students negotiate the design of a street or longboard style board with their sponsor/client and display the results at a local gallery. Students receive an honorarium for their work from the money raised and students participate in a photo opportunity with the sponsor/client when they deliver the finished deck.

All Parents, Students, Community Partners and OSF Supporters are invited to participate in the OSF Community Council. The OSF Community Council’s mandate is to provide a safety net to support our students and to enrich their experience of success in the school and community.